


The Hunt

by CoffeeBean (QueenEevee)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Fugitives, Medieval AU, The Huntress - Freeform, The Knight - Freeform, kind of?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-08
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2018-02-03 22:18:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1758369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenEevee/pseuds/CoffeeBean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Huntress has been a fugitive on the run for years now. Being skilled in hand-to-hand combat, a master of disguise, having brains of a mad genius, and the sharpest claws and tongue, she's unable to be caught for long. After she escapes from the prison again, The Knight, haunted by a mistake he made years ago, goes after her. The Huntress finds him, and after realizing he doesn't recognize her, she decides to go with him to "find the fugitive". After all, keep you friends close and enemies closer, right? What could possibly go wrong?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Master Plan

    The chains rattled as The Huntress fought for better positioning. Her request was denied as she hissed, and straightened herself instead. Looking around, she realized the room was completely empty. She was in a dungeon of some sort. It was built completely out of stone with only one window covered with glass above her head. She was stretched out in an “X”, her arms and legs on opposite sides of each other chained to the wall. The words of her kidnappers rang in her ears.

“X marks the spot”

“Yeah, for death!”

She smiled to herself. Oh how wrong they were. She was stronger than they thought. Her weak demeanor was simply an act, a protection for her…true form if you will. She perked her ears as the door rattled and swung open. One of the soldiers (who looked more like goons) stood in the doorway, twirling the keys and whistling.

“Well well, what do we have here? How are you doing kitty?” The goon asked, stepping into the room slowly, walking towards her.

“Meow-valous,” She spat, sarcasm dripping from her mouth.

“So glad.” He purred. He finally stepped into full view and The Huntress hissed.

“Ampurra…” She breathed.

“Leijon…” He answered back.

“How fabulous it is to see mew!” She said, a fake smile across her face. She dropped it immediately. “What are mew doing here anyways?”

“Well, I was here to give you food but…” He trailed off. “I don’t think you need the calories.”

She snorted. “Look who’s talking.” She was thin as a bone, minus the muscles, where as you could tell Eridan was much better fed than her.

He rolled his eyes and his smile vanished. “Just remember cat, I have the power to execute you at any point in time.”

The Huntress sighed. “Bite me. You’re not the ruler anymore, remember? Last time I checked The Captain was still in command.” The Captain was the man who ran this entire business that tried to capture her. He was the one who chased her around the most.

He glared at her. “Yeah, so what? They’ll pretty much believe anything I say against you. And I’m pretty sure the Captain won’t have any problem believing something I made up if it meant killing you.”

“Purrety sure he wants me alive fishstick.” She retorted. “So don’t get your hopes up on executing me too soon.”

His anger was rising with every retort she said and The Huntress could tell. She took pride in the fact she could get almost anyone upset with just a couple breaths.

“Well I could still kill you, even if he wants you alive.”

“Come at me. Mew don’t have the strength to kill a grub, let alone me. Even tied up like this I’ll still rip mew to shreds.”

 He growled with frustration and let out a shriek of anger. He charged at her, but he was too far away. She was ready. Whipping out her tail, which she had untied from the chains weeks ago, she grabbed his wrist and flipped him, which sent him crashing to the ground. Pure rage was seething off of him as he left the room with a huff of defeat, slamming the door behind him.

“Good night, pussycat.”

 The Huntress laughed silently. She’d been called worse before. Listening to make sure he was gone, she got straight to work. She had been planning this escape for weeks. Well, technically she could have escaped the day she got here, but she wanted to stay so she could get even with Eridan, and survey the place a little more. From what she saw, this was still a fairly new dungeon, probably the newest one the Captain had built. They made the windows out of glass, didn’t remove her weapon, and only put one guard in charge of her, the one she could get upset the easiest. The one who just stormed off. The moonlight was the only beacon she needed as she began the plan. She unsheathed her claws from her gloves and bent her right wrist as far as she could downwards. _Click._ Her right arm was free. She swiftly undid the others and stretched out her muscles. Then, with a quick leap, she smashed a hole in the glass with her claws and squeezed through. She landed on the ground with a light _THUMP_. She shook her head. Idiots. The Huntress laughed out loud freely and greeted the wind with a gracious smile. Her bare feet padded the ground as she ran, hearing shouts of annoyance and anger behind her. But The Huntress didn’t care.

Nepeta Leijon was used to being a fugitive.

Nepeta Leijon didn’t take capture or death for an answer.

**~     ~     ~     ~**

   “She got away Sir,” A soldier said. The Knight shook his head in anger from the corner where he stood and groaned. His father, The Captain, was not going to be happy when he heard this. He tilted his head in thought and admired the girl for being able to escape.

 _Granted,_ He thought. _This new group is a bit ragtag._

His father had to lock her up in this one because all the others ones were full. He was the best fugitive hunter out there. No one could escape his grasp…well…except for her of course. She was the most sought after. Able to steal anything and escape from anywhere. She had the strength of 10 men and was so good at disguises it took weeks, even months to figure out who she was and she only needed a new one about twice a year. That’s why The Knight wanted to catch her. He wanted to prove to his father he could redeem himself.

“People are not objects you can just throw around.”

His mother’s voice came crashing back as he sighed with defeat. Damn. He pondered over his options as his father came storming in.

“What the hell happened here?!” He boomed. The Knight winced.

“Who was on duty?”

Two soldiers, Eridan and Kanaya, stood. Kanaya looked infuriated while Eridan looked embarrassed.

“So, what happened?” The Captain sneered.

“This moron,” Kanaya started, fuming. “Decided to provoke her. She pissed him off, big surprise, and he stormed off, abandoning his post. I was grabbing her food, like we were supposed to, when I notice him come raging back to the kitchen. Next thing you know she’s gone.”

The Captain roared in rage as Eridan shrunk behind Kanaya. The Knight couldn’t help but snicker at how stupid Eridan really was.

“I’ll go after her,” The Knight volunteered. The captain stopped yelling abruptly and looked at him, then laughed.

“You? Ha! Please!” He spat, still laughing.

“Please father! I’ll redeem myself. I promise!” The Knight begged.

“Hmm…” The Captain thought. “Fine. I’ll give you one last chance. If you bring her back alive, not dead, you can be my 2nd in command again. If not…well…you know what happens when you disappoint me a second time.” A smug look crossed his face as The Knight gulped. He nodded and raced outside. The moonlight shone across his face as he walked down a dirt path. A couple feet down rested a stable. The Knight greeted the familiar horses as he looked for his stall.

_Karkat Vantas_

The worn wooden words smiled up at him as he traced his fingers over them. He saddled up his horse and beckoned his father’s hounds to come with him. Leaping onto the horse with grace, he rode off, the moon bidding him farewell as it disappeared behind the clouds.


	2. Dangerous Meet and Greet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nepeta finally meets Karkat but will he recognize her? Will she recognize him? Thank gog for disguises!

“How…long…have I been…running?” Nepeta breathed. She collapsed to the ground. She must have been running all night. The glow of the sun rising over the horizon answered her question.Looking over her shoulder, she spotted a village.

“Purrfect,” She said, a smile growing across her face.

Spotting a path to her left, Nepeta started walking down it. But as soon as she started, she heard footsteps and bounced into the nearest tree. Below her was a horse. She cursed herself for being sloppy with covering up her trail. All she could see was a boy who looked about her age on horseback with hounds around his feet. Obviously he was looking for her. She rolled her eyes. Didn’t they realize they couldn’t catch her?

“Go on boys, search the area,” The boy said firmly.

She suddenly had a great idea. Slipping off her wig which was blonde, she revealed her natural, shoulder length, black hair. She then removed her blue contacts, showing her real eyes. Adjusting her eyes to the change, she placed her gloves into her back pocket and placed the wig and the contacts in the tree. She could always get new ones later. She poised herself in the leaves and waited for the perfect moment to strike.

 

~   ~   ~   ~

          Following her trail was probably one of the hardest things in the world. Even the hounds had a hard time picking up her scent. They had been traveling all night before the dogs even got a good whiff of it. Although, he couldn’t blame them. All he had was a tuft of fur from her tail his father used to find her. It was a bit old and probably lost all its scent. They had finally arrived at a village a couple minutes ago. The hounds had jumped up and dragged him and his horse up a path north of the village. Now he was waiting while they sniffed the area. A rustling of leaves and a bark from one of the hounds snapped him back to reality. They were barking up the tree he was under. Ugh. He groaned at their lack of intelligence, but then heard rustling.

“Hello?” Karkat asked. He got a rustling of leaves and a breeze behind him in response. Whipping around, he took a double take. Before him stood a girl who looked about 8 sweeps, so around his age. She had black hair that danced around her face and the most iridescent, olive green eyes he had ever seen. She was skinny, lithe, and obviously agile from the way she just leaped out of the tree. She had a dark blue tail that slowly swished around the leaves on the ground. Though he wouldn’t ever admit it, she wasn’t that bad looking. She was in the middle of dusting herself off and picking leaves out of her hair when he finally found his voice.

“Who…who are you?”

“Nepeta,” She spoke energetically, grunting as she finally got the last leaf out. She shook herself and smiled. “Who are mew?”

Before he could respond, the hounds starting barking again, directly at her. She froze and her tail started to bristle up.

“Bad dogs! Go back home!” He yelled, a little more loudly than he meant to. It was obvious they weren’t going to find her with the old tuft he had. He would have to just search the whole country by himself. The hounds whimpered as they backed up and raced back to the main base.

She started to calm down as he gave a half smile and held out his hand.

“Karkat. Karkat Vantas. Son of Captain Vantas.”

He thought he saw panic flash in her eyes, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. He ignored it as she shook his hand fervently.

“Nice to meet mew!” He almost laughed at her cat pun, but thought better of it. It was actually kind of cool.

“I’m so sorry about the dogs…they…are kind of annoying sometimes.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I guess I overreacted a little.”

Now it was his turn to laugh.

“So what are mew doing out here? Nobody evfur comes around here.” She asked after he stopped laughing.

“I’m searching for a fugitive named The Huntress. I’m assuming you’ve heard of her before.”

“Of course! What half cat girl hasn’t heard of her?” She said with a smirk that made The Knight roll his eyes with humor.

“Well, I’m looking for her, if you couldn’t tell by the fact I’m the Captain’s son.” He said with a hint of regret. He was starting to think being the Captain’s son wasn’t so great after all.

“Do mew need any help? After all, you’re only tracking system ran away from mew,” She said, pointing in the direction where the dogs had run off.

He thought for a minute and then shrugged his shoulders.

“Sure. Why the hell not.” She smiled and he jumped back up onto the horse. She leaped up behind him, letting out an _Oomph_ as she hit the saddle. And with that, they rode off, back to the village.

 

**_~   ~   ~   ~_ **

This was a bad idea. Nepeta’s mind was filled with regret as all of her senses screamed _Danger!_ She shook away the feeling and thought it over. He had no idea whom she was, that was evident by the way he had no reaction to her. And she had already thought this out. What’s better than being with the enemy to avoid being caught? Wasn’t there a saying she had overheard from someone once?

_Keep your friends close and you enemies closer._

That was it. By being with him and just following where he went, she got the safest trip around the country and she could always just ditch him whenever she wanted. He didn’t have the hounds anymore, thanks to her fabulous acting of being afraid. However, she would stay with him for a little bit to find out as much as she could and get on his good side. That would be her plan.

Stay with him.

Find out information.

Abandon ship once she got to some where she wanted to be.

Bingo.

The horse came to a halt as she blinked her eyes a couple times, not used to the sunlight quite yet. Houses towered over her head as the murmurs of the villagers rang in her ears. A well sat to her left, the gurgling of water echoing in her ear and the rustling of plants mixed with the other sounds. They were in a village. Her village. Whoops.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! 2nd chapter! Thanks for all the views and kudos! :3 And so you guys are on the same page as me, in this story Nepeta is much older (Around 17-18 years old) and so she doesn't a have a cute little voice Nepeta would have at 6 sweeps. I imagine it to be a bit deeper, almost like the Disciple's.  
> ~Calico


	3. The Village

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nepeta discovers that this village just happens to be her old home, before she ran away. All the better to help her pretend she just an ordinary girl to Karkat. But will anyone recognize her here? And if so, will they be willing to play along to support her? Home sweet home...right?

Nepeta knew this village looked familiar. This was where she was born and raised. Memories began flooding back as she glanced around. Her mother was never really happy where she was. Always wanted more and longing for a steady matespirit. She went crazy after a while, lashing out at Nepeta with her words. But she was all Nepeta had. When her mother left, Nepeta had run after her, heartbroken and defeated, desperate to find her. She had grown stronger since then, living on her own in the forest and moving in between villages, never staying for long. And now, suddenly, she was back after all these years. Curiosity got the better of her as she tapped Karkat on the shoulder.

"Hmm?" He hummed as he turned his head around, eyes questioning.

"Are we going to go down to the village?" She asked, trying to sound as blasé as possible.

"Sure. Why not. We can ask if they've seen anyone around." Karkat responded, steering his horse down towards the village. She silently cheered and then composed herself again. She wasn't supposed to be that excited. The horse whinnied as it came to a halt and Karkat clumsily hopped down. Nepeta leaped down gracefully as she landed on both feet, dust rising around her ankles as she brushed herself off. Karkat had a mixture of awe and amusement flickering in his eyes as he grabbed his horse and led him to the nearest tree.

 "I never asked, what's the horse's name?" Nepeta asked, stoking its nose as it nuzzled into her palm.

 "Louella," Karkat said, not missing a beat as he lovingly looked at his horse.

 "That's a beautiful name. Does it mean something in particular?" Nepeta asked, turning away from the horse.

 "Renowned fighter," Karkat replied. "Something she deserves. She's been more helpful in battles than I have." Nepeta laughed and began walking down the path again, Karkat following suit. They stopped at the end of the path, pausing for a minute to take in the village.

 "Home sweet home," Nepeta mumbled under her breath as Karkat walked past and knocked on the nearest door. She bounded over and hoped for the best.

 **~    ~    ~    ~**  

“Hello? Anyone home?” Karkat asked, banging on the door. A woman opened the door with a confused look on her face.

 “And who may you be?” She questioned as a toddler appeared behind her leg, looking scared. The woman had short blonde hair with a black headband. She had on a white dress with rose colored details up and down her dress and she held knitting needles in her hand. As for the toddler, she also had blonde hair, but she had a purple and pink dress on and held a black stuffed cat in her little hands.

 “We pose no threat ma’am…” He trailed off as she cut him off.

 “We?”

 Karkat gestured behind him as Nepeta stepped into view. She looked a bit nervous, but still kept her strong composure. The woman looked at her with confusion, as if she was trying to put a name to the face. Her face lit up as she realized who it was and ran over and hugged her. Nepeta looked surprised and then sank into the hug.

 “Nepeta…we thought you’d never return…” The woman breathed as Nepeta smiled.

 “Of course I’d come back, Rose. How could I forget about this place?” Nepeta laughed as Rose broke off the hug, laughing along with her.

 “And who’s this?” Nepeta asked, gesturing towards the little toddler who just watched on from the doorway. Rose ran over, picked her up, and walked back to where they were standing. Karkat couldn’t help but gawk at the turn of events. Whatever had happened before was lost to him, but by the way Nepeta cast a reassuring look at him, he knew she would explain later.

 “This is Roxy.” Rose said, pride filled her voice as the toddler cooed and reached her arms out towards Karkat. Nepeta giggled as Karkat blushed a little, touched by the child's kindness.

 “She seems to like you,” Rose smiled. “Would you like to hold her?”

 Karkat nodded as Roxy was passed to him. He smiled, joy filling him as Nepeta looked on, amusement filling her gaze. He knew she’d never let him live this down, but for the time being, he didn’t care. A sudden burst of noise from the house next to Rose’s shocked him and he handed Roxy back to Rose.

 “Is that…Nepeta?” A big man was approaching them as Nepeta squealed uncharacteristically and ran towards him. He smiled as she tackled him. He wore broken sunglasses and typical peasant clothing.

 "I thought you were..." He trailed off as Nepeta whisked her tail across his mouth, silencing him. She whispered something to him and then laughed as he nodded in agreement.

 "Just...be careful..." Karkat heard him say as she ran back over to the group. Nepeta looked a bit frazzled from all the reunions but overall, overjoyed.

 "That was my moirail, Equius," She explained. Karkat nodded his head in understanding as Rose walked over to them again.

 "If you don't mind...Karkat is it? I would like to speak to Nepeta for a couple minutes please. You know, to catch up on news!" Rose said cheerfully. Karkat nodded.

 "Okay, I'll go tend to my horse." Karkat murmured, still a bit befuddled. He walked away, casting one last look over his shoulder, and went to greet Louella.

**~    ~    ~    ~**

Nepeta turned her head to face Rose as Karkat disappeared up the hill. Her friendly demeanor had vanished and she was left with the serious Rose she wasn’t used to.

 “Nepeta, I know who you are. Or should I say, The Huntress.” Rose smirked as Nepeta gasped.

 “How did you…You've been practicing your psychics again haven’t you?!” Nepeta growled.

 “This is true, however, you are the biggest talk of the towns so I didn't really have to try hard. I see you traveling from place to place stealing things and wrecking towns. And while I know it’s all in good nature, it’s still extremely dangerous. Especially now that you have a partner. I see you've taken a liking to him. Don’t lie to me.” Rose put up her finger as Nepeta paused to interject. She swished her tail in anger as Rose continued.

 “Like I was saying, this will go wrong. I know I can’t stop you from doing what you love, but please be careful and put your feelings aside or you will get hurt.”

 Nepeta sighed as she cracked a small smile at Rose. “I’ve always been careful Rose. I won’t get caught! Plus, while Karkat’s not the last person I would become matespirits with, I’m pretty sure this friendship isn’t going to go that far.”

 Rose nodded. “Okay. Just…please don’t ignore what I said…”

 Nepeta smiled and hugged Rose. “I won’t! See you later Rose and Roxy!”

 And with that she bounded off. Equius stepped out of the shadows of the houses as Nepeta intersected him and said farewell. Equius smiled, bid her good luck, and walked over to Rose.

 “You didn’t tell her what else you saw, did you?” Equius asked. Rose shook her head.

 “Nope. But she’ll figure it out soon enough. Let’s just say she’s going to have lots of regrets and heartbreaks. Well, if things go the way I think they will. She could turn it around! We’ll just have to wait and see.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating in a while guys! Now that school's out it'll be easier for me to update this story! Thanks for the reads and kudos! :3 Also, I stopped typing in Nepeta's cat puns because I didn't like them in the story. Should I keep them or keep it as it is?
> 
> And for those who are confused on the clothing, here are some links that I used to describe the outfits. (Obviously the pictures will have different colors but imagine the best you can xD)
> 
> Rose: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/441563938435528948/
> 
> Roxy: (Just imagine a little dress similar to Rose's but pink and purple)
> 
> Equius: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/243405554834585225/
> 
> Karkat: http://www.vector-clip-art.com/2012/04/medieval-knights-clothes-041212.html
> 
> Nepeta: http://www.daz3d.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/p/o/pop-up01_rangerbundle_.jpg (Only imagine it more black and olive colored :3) 
> 
> ~Calico <3


	4. The Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sun sets on Nepeta and Karkat's first day of searching for the Huntress. They stumble upon what seems like the perfect place to make a base for the night, but Nepeta's the first to discover the shadows hide more than the light. Will they be able to survive the night? Even the most innocent can be deadly and the dark isn't the only one with secrets.

_Now what was all that about?_ Nepeta wondered as she hopped back up onto the horse. She shook it off and tucked Equius and Rose’s advice away in her mind. They rode for a little while until a beautiful forest appeared over the horizon. The sun was beginning to set and Nepeta perked up as Karkat began to speak.

“Think we should stop here for the night?” Karkat inquired.

Nepeta nodded. “Sure! Let’s see if we can find somewhere to make a base!” She excitedly smiled and began bouncing in her seat lightly, anxious to get started. Louella snorted as she came to a stop. In front of them was a gorgeous waterfall splashing into a shallow pool of water. The giant trees looming above provided shade from the setting sun and created a comfortable atmosphere. Next to the waterfall rested a small cave, lit by the little lightning bugs that were beginning to come out. Nepeta smiled and leaned back. She knew they’d be comfortable here, and by Karkat’s relieved sigh, she knew he thought the same.

Louella whinnied as Karkat pulled on the reins. Nepeta hopped off gracefully and took off her shoes, the soft grass tickling her feet. She stretched and yawned as Karkat leaped off the horse as well, less clumsily than last time. She raced across the grass to the cave and giggled at the sudden adrenaline rush. She supposed it was from being out in the wild again. Peeking inside, she realized it was very shallow, but big enough to shelter herself and Karkat for the night, with a tree nearby to tie Louella to. The cave itself was surprisingly warm and was lit from the little insects that fluttered around.

“Hey Karkat! Over here!” He whipped his head around as she beckoned him over and he trotted over. Looking around, he nodded his approval and she smiled, proud she could be of use. She wasn’t fond sleeping under a roof, she much preferred a tree of some sort, but when in Rome… 

“Should we settle down for the night? We could always just find food in the morning,” Karkat suggested, sitting down on the ground. She nodded and sat down as well. Karkat reached into his bag as Louella trotted to the back of the cave and lay down, slowly falling asleep. He took out some flint and steel.

“Would you like me to gather some sticks?” Nepeta asked, itching to get outside. He nodded and she sprung up, exiting the cave in a flash.

 

~o~o~o~o~o~o~

 

Nepeta's feet barely seemed to touch the ground as she ran from the cave. The moonlight cast huge shadows of trees along the ground and she felt at ease in her natural setting. This is where she belonged. However, the exhilarating feeling was cut short as a shuffle from the bushes stopped her in mid race. She sniffed the air for a scent, but there was none. They either down-wind of her or she was just hearing things. Nonetheless, she decided to investigate. The bush was jolting with movement every couple seconds while Nepeta snuck up on it. She backed down on all fours. All of a sudden, two pairs of bright, gleaming red eyes popped into view and she bristled, startled. She was prepared to leap when they disappeared as fast as they came. She leapt into the bush and landed on the hard ground, nothing in sight.

 _Well that's not creepy at all,_ she thought. _There's something off about this jungle, I just can't put a finger on it._

She shrugged, more wary now, and continued her hunt for sticks.

 

~o~o~o~o~o~o~

 

By the time she made it back to the cave Karkat was already asleep. She set down her huge bundle of twigs and smiled involuntarily. He looked so much calmer when he was asleep. His face wasn't contorted with stress, just peace. She shook her head, getting herself out of her daze and began to start a fire. She placed some stones around a dirt pit she dug shallowly and began placing various sticks in the hole when she heard something stirring. She whipped around, on guard, and realized it was only Karkat. He rubbed his eyes and then, realizing he fell asleep, shot his eyes open and sprang up, a bit wobbly. Nepeta couldn't help but silently laugh at his reaction.

"Do you want any help with that?" Karkat asked. "I took a nap, you should be able to take one too,"

"No. No, I'm not sleepy," Her words were cut off by a hypocritical yawn and Karkat smiled at the bad timing. She waved him away and struck one of the matches, engulfing the place in a warm, orange glow and heat.

"Ah, much better," She sighed and a chill went down her spine as the heat began to warm her up. She hadn't realized how cold she was until now.

"Are you okay?" Karkat asked, creeping closer to the fire. "You're shivering,"

"I just didn't realize how cold I was until I felt a source of heat," She shrugged. "I'll warm up in a minute." She was right. In minutes she was toasty warm. They both began to stretch out, laying on the now warm ground. Nepeta was laying on her side, her head on her hands and Karkat was laying on his back, his feet facing the doorway with his hands on his chest. Nepeta's eyes started to droop as the fire began to lull her to sleep, but told herself to stay awake. Never fall asleep first, especially when on the run. One of the many rules of being a Huntress. She tried to think of a way to stay awake and figured talking may be the next best thing.

"Favorite color," She blurted out. Karkat lifted his head up from where he was laying on the ground and gave her a look of confusion.

"Huh?"

"I'm traveling with you and I know nothing about you so I figured we may as well get to know each other. What's your favorite color?"

He grinned. "Probably red. Yours?"

"Green. More like a lime green though,"

Karkat gestured to her outfit. "I can tell," Now it was her turn to smile.

"Favorite food?" She asked.

"Hmm...Have you ever had raspberry tarts?" She shook her head. "Oh man, I'll have to show you them sometime. They are the best. Especially the way my mom used to make them," He sighed sadly and looked at Nepeta, a smile on his face once more. "And yours?"

"Apples. I know it super simple but for some reason I just really like them,"

They continued like this for a while, talking about favorite animals (horses for Karkat, cats for Nepeta), favorite song (Karkat didn't have one but Nepeta's was The Mist, an old lullaby she loved), and favorite activity (Horseback riding and exploring for Karkat and traveling and singing for Nepeta).

"So why were you out there? In that tree?" Karkat questioned after trying to convince Nepeta to sing to no avail. Nepeta froze. She hadn't come up with a full excuse yet.

"I've...I've been on the run from some bad people, trying to hurt me. Then when you came along and I realized you were friendly, so I decided to travel with you. I can help you complete your mission and the awful people won't find me," She finished. It's not like it was a lie. She just left out some key points.

"Oh. Well I won't ask why they were chasing you. But I know you're going to ask why I was out there. As I told you, I'm looking for a fugitive nicknamed The Huntress. My father’s trying to lock her up and I volunteered to help him so I could prove myself to him...”

Nepeta stiffened at the mention of her name, but relaxed slightly when she realized he at least wasn't hunting her out of complete spite.

"What's so bad about her anyways? I mean, I've heard that she steals from rich villages, but is that really worth being locked up forever?" Nepeta asked, faking innocence.

"Well she wouldn't be locked up forever if she only stole from one or two villages. The problem is that she's stolen from a lot of villages. And I mean a lot. We don't know what she does with the money and supplies, but we assume she uses it for her own wealth. She is the best at what she does though, and no matter what tactics we use, she always seems to get away. A master of disguise and the art of fighting, she always seems to get away unscathed and flies under our radar for months, even years. My fathers determined to catch her to 'make her pay for her crimes' and to prove she's not as great as everyone thinks she is." Karkat made quotation fingers around his father’s words and rested his head down again, moving his fingers mindlessly.

"Honestly, it's just a stupid competition at this point, trying to see whose better..." He said it so quietly Nepeta had to strain to listen.

Nepeta mulled over his words as she sat in silence, her swishing tail the only noise. She was half proud that they recognized her as one of the best, but terrified of what was to come. All the more reason to stay even more hidden. She was about to speak up again when a giant shadow blocked out the moonlight for a brief moment and the wind picked up.

"What was that?" Karkat asked defensively, standing up slowly. Louella neighed from outside and Karkat left the cave in a hurry, Nepeta following carefully. She knew these trees were hiding something.

_Hello Nepeta. Or should I say, The Huntress._

She whipped around, her tail bushed up as Karkat turned around from where he was comforting Louella. It sounded like multiple people were talking, but yet it was just one voice.

"Nepeta?" Karkat asked, concern lacing his voice. "What's wrong?" So obviously he couldn't hear the same voices she could, but by the look of concentration on his face, he was hearing something as well.

_SO YOU’VE FOUND A NEW LOVE, HUH KNIGHT?_

"No," Karkat whispered out loud. Nepeta was going to ask what he heard when her voices came back.

_He's probably already recognized you and is just tricking you. It'll be the gallows for you surely._

Nepeta froze, tail bristling.

_OH STUPID KARKAT. DIDN’T YOU LEARN YOUR LESSON? YOU LED ONE GIRL TO HER DEATH AND YOU’LL LEAD ANOTHER._

"No I won't!" Karkat whispered again, louder now.

_You are just a petty criminal. You didn't even listen to Rose's warning did you? Now you're going to pay for being reckless. Was it worth it?_

Nepeta covered her ears with her hands, cringing, as she shook her head, shoving the thoughts out. She tried to see how Karkat was doing, and to her dismay, he was taking the voices terribly.

"No I didn't." A pause.

"It wasn't my fault! Another pause.

"I tried to stop him!" Now Nepeta was worried. His face was shifting into one of fear and sadness.

"No!" Karkat put his hands on his ears, his face a mixture of rage and fright. Nepeta raced over to him, a din of laughter in her head as a swishing sound similar to the one she had heard earlier arose. Looking around, she realized a swarm of beasts were rising behind her. They were black as the night, and if it weren’t for the moonlight, they would have blended in perfectly, minus their piercing, red eyes.

“Oh no…” Nepeta breathed. Karkat whipped around and his hands dropped, fear striking his eyes. Nepeta’s pupils narrowed and she took off running, Karkat right on her tail. The creatures began buzzing and they began racing towards them in a stampede.

_If he doesn't know your secret now, he will soon. After all, you're just with him to protect yourself. He’ll find that out soon enough. Now he's going to get in trouble and it's all your fault._

Nepeta just kept eyes on the road in front of her and she was glad to see Karkat was doing the same. He must have been tuning the voices out as well, though he looked weak from the effort.

“They’re…gaining on us…” Karkat stuttered, their feet pounding on the ground. He was right. The glowing red eyes just kept getting closer and closer, no matter how fast they ran. Nepeta’s muscles were screaming with exhaustion, but she was going to hold out until the adrenaline kicked in. Up ahead, she spotted a giant jungle tree in the center of a clearing with lots of vines and towered over them at a good 20 or 30 feet. She got an idea.

“Let’s see if these morons can climb!” Nepeta shouted behind her back and picked up her pace.

Grabbing on the nearest, low-hanging vine, she latched on and swung. The wind whipped through her hair as she soared, jumping at the right moment and finally landing on the next branch with a loud thud. From there, she looked down. Karkat was a couple feet away, looking at her with astonishment, but he understood her idea. He jumped, grabbing on the vine and began to just straight up climb the vine. He was a bit unsteady, but he was surprisingly fast. He soon rested on her branch, breathing heavy. They looked at each other and Nepeta nodded, signaling to climb higher. The branch was still low enough for the creature’s sharp teeth to reach if they jumped, which they soon discovered as well. Nepeta unsheathed her claws on her glove and began to climb up the trunk, while Karkat just hopped from branch to branch. The voices still rambled on in their heads, but they didn’t stop until they physically couldn’t go any higher. The branch they finally settled on was laced with moss and was probably 15 feet above the ground. The creatures, whatever they were, looked like just giant black dots, furiously scrambling to climb the tree, but to no avail. Nepeta let out a stuttering breath and turned to Karkat. His eyes were closed and it gave Nepeta a couple more minutes to survey him. After all, she wanted to make sure he was okay. Normally, she was alone when she did stunts like this and she had no idea how someone else would hold up. Plus, she hadn’t really given him a good look over yet. She liked to know who her enemies, or ‘friends’ in this case, were.

His cheeks were flushed red with fatigue and he was leaning up against the tree trunk, hands on his ears, still trying to block out the voices. His soot black hair was coated in sweat and it clung to his forehead, curling at the ends from the jungle humidity. She involuntarily ran her hand through her hair as well to find it was equally as wet and was also beginning to become wavy thanks to the extra moisture.

Suddenly, she realized something was missing. Sound. Her voices were gone. She laughed at the good fortune. It must be because they were far enough away from the source. But then, why was Karkat still holding his ears? She tapped on his shoulder and he opened his eyes.

“Are you still hearing voices?” He shook his head and removed his hands. Nepeta gasped. His right ear was slit open right at the tip and was gushing blood. His right hand was coated in the red liquid. She knew it wasn’t serious, as face wounds just tended to bleed a lot, but it was still a surprise. He smiled weakly at her expression.

“I’m fine. It looks worse than it feels. I snagged it on one of the thorns on the vines hanging off the branches. I’m more exhausted than anything.” She smiled in agreement, but furrowed her brows as she began to look around.

“Wha- “

 Karkat was cut off by Nepeta breaking off a couple of the leaves above their heads. She cut some of the vines with her claws and wrapped them around the leaves. Her tongue stuck out the side of her mouth as she worked and finally she held up the object proudly. It was a make-shift bandage. Karkat’s eyes widened and he shook his head.

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” He said it with a joking tone, but Nepeta couldn’t help but feel a shiver crawl up her spine.

_If only you knew…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD AN UPDATE SOUND THE BELLS  
> My has it been a while x3 I hope people are still reading this after my mini hiatus  
> My writers block is still sadly raging on, but hopefully I'll be able to write and upload in between school and homework :D  
> ~Calico

**Author's Note:**

> Hoped you guys liked my first fanfic! I have no idea when this will be updated next but hopefully it won't take too long! :3  
> ~Calico


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